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Yesterday, we took the kiddos to a concert, a parade, a fair, and a dog frisbee catching competition. And then I had Taco Bell at 10pm. If that ain’t celebrating America’s birthday, I don’t know what is.

Starlin Castro is getting a lot of grief for failing to score on an Alfonso Soriano single yesterday, on which it looked like the kind of hit that would easily lead to a run. If you missed the play, you can watch it here and jump into the whirlwind of educated opinions. To me, it looks like Castro got a bad jump, and wasn’t running all out on his way to third base. What’s not clear is why he was not running all out initially. His bad jump, and the location of the ball might have messed up his rhythm slightly, and then he was rounding third, so he necessarily slowed a bit. From there, he busted it. I’m really not sure I can look at that play and say that Castro wasn’t trying his hardest. I think he was. I just think there was some kind of rumblin’-bumblin’-stumblin’ going on at the beginning.

It seems like the whole thing was just the matter of a perfect play and throw by A’s left fielder Yoenis Cespedes. “It seemed like a no-brainer right off the bat. I don’t know what happened there,” Dale Sveum said of the play, per Cubs.com. “It surprised me,” Castro said. “I ran hard right away. When I saw the ball hit, I went right away to home plate and he made a good throw …. The guy made a great throw. I thought I’d score easy. I never stopped, I never said to myself, ‘I’m out.’ I ran hard right away [from] second base. I was surprised I was out.” I’m not going to make much ado about nothing here. A bad jump, otherwise decent running, and a perfect throw. That’s probably all this is.

Carlos Villanueva is going to get the start on Sunday after all, in place of the departed Scott Feldman. Chris Rusin was just a one-game fill-in, and Villanueva will now move back into the rotation for the foreseeable future. I’d be surprised to see him throw too many pitches on Sunday, though.

Can you spot the saddest part of this Dale Sveum quote, from ESPN: “[Travis Wood has] been our All-Star, no question about it. He’s had some very unfortunate incidents, or his earned run average could be quite a bit better than it is. Sometimes a guy like Travis Wood might get overlooked, but he’s definitely been our All-Star.” Anybody see it? “Our All-Star.” Like, one. Like, as in, it’s been clear that the Cubs have just one All-Star, and it’s Travis Wood.

Another Cubs outfielder went down yesterday, as Brian Bogusevic left early with hamstring tightness. Hopefully it’s a minor thing, as he hasn’t been put on the DL just yet.

FanGraphs’ Eno Sarris has an additional explanation to heap onto the surprising 2013 success of Kevin Gregg: dude’s starting out with his feet slightly farther apart. Sometimes that’s all it takes, though I’d imagine there are some other differences (we’ve previously discussed his increasing reliance on a very nice sinker). Whatever the case, the change remains further evidence that Gregg’s sublime performance this year is legit.

This is absolutely, unequivocally unacceptable. If it wasn’t bad enough that Dodgers outfielder Yasiel Puig was stealing all of the national baseball attention, now he’s doing the unthinkable. He’s stealing Luis Valbuena’s bat flip.

In case you missed it yesterday with the holiday, I did some musing on the Cubs’ international spending proclivities this year, and expounded on a theory that could make the front office look like geniuses (as if they need my help).

Also, he was nearly 2 strides past 3rd when Cespedes picked up the ball and he wasn’t that shallow. Ordinarily, that would mean Castro scores easily. It was a great throw and Castro appeared to be running hard, but the failure to score when he was well beyond 3rd when the fielder picked up the ball is puzzling.

Spriggs

Agree. When I saw the play live, I thought he had a decent jump off 2nd. I thought he was well passed 3rd before Cespedes picked up the ball. I thought he would score easily. I was and still am shocked on how even a perfect throw could have nailed him. When I watch the reply here from the link provided, number 1, I’m shocked by how shocked the A’s announcers are with Castro. Number 2, I don’t see anything different from what I thought when I saw it the first time. If anything, he slowed as he rounded third a little, but I cannot find a lot of fault with Castro. I still cannot believe he was thrown out. For sure it was NOT a bad send by Bell either.

brunsmk

Just for fun I timed the clip at about 6.7 seconds. Searched the internet for other second to home times and found both Reed Johnson and Jayson Werth at basically the same time. So take that for what it’s worth. So tired of national media finding everything to blast this kid for. It is definitely a case of people having opinions of him and searching for things to validate it.

Spriggs

Really? I still cannot figure out how they threw him out…

It’s like there must an A’s fan (or an anti Cubs baseball god?) out there with some type of superhero/villan superpower to stop time for one guy… nah, probably not.

DocPeterWimsey

What I dislike is that it takes away attention from an amazing throw by Cespedes. You can go weeks or even months without seeing a throw that strong and accurate.

http://www.worldseriesdreaming.com dabynsky

Yeah the fact that Cespedes makes a perfect one hop throw is being overlooked a lot at this point, and if you watch the A’s broadcast of the version they really sold their viewers that Castro wasn’t hustling all the way.

Spriggs

It was no doubt a great play by Cespedes and that part was underplayed even by his own team’s announcers. As I watched the play, I thought Castro was going to score for sure… even if that was Roberto Clemente out there. I thought the throw was going to be irrelevant.

OCCubFan

I really don’t think anyone is overlooking the great throw. Also, Cespedes, playing deep for Soriano, charged hard to field the ball and had his momentum going toward the plate. He also got rid of the ball quickly. The catcher did an excellent job of blocking the plate and applying the tag. Because the A’s did everything perfectly and still got Castro by quite a small margin, the “send” was certainly correct.

Castro correctly did not slow himself by looking back over his shoulder the way so many runners do (especially the Cubs, with Rizzo being the worst offender).

Halfway to 3rd, Castro’s stride lengthened for a couple of steps. Because he should have been accelerating at that point, his stride should have been shorter. Perhaps he instinctively paused because the 3rd baseman was standing in his path, though backing out of the way. Perhaps the 3rd base coach was late in motioning for Castro to round 3rd. Regardless of the reason, Castro clearly (to me) did not accelerate as rapidly as he should have at that point.

My primary point, however, is that Castro was 2 steps past 3rd base when Cespedes fielded the ball. As Spriggs stated, even Clemente should not have been able to throw him out.

Going against what I said above is brnsmk’s statement that he timed the clip at 6.7 seconds and that is a reasonable time. Does anyone have more info on those points?

Hansman1982

It’s the sad state of Cubdom that we are breaking down, in fine detail, this play.

Spriggs

well, how else do you maintain sanity when watching this team?

Spriggs

Are we about to agree on my “superhero/villan powers” theory? In a normal environment, Castro simply would have been safe. I’m going with it.

Nedskid

Sometimes I feel like broadcasters think it’s their “job” to put a spotlight on the opposing team when something that would otherwise go unnoticed happens. I’m not saying Len, JD or even Brenly didn’t do it at times, but I never really care for it.

Die hard

Quit picking on the kid… He could use TLC now

Zachary

Wood has been great but he racks up a high pitch count and has trouble getting to the seventh.

baldtaxguy

From memory, I’d venture no more of a pitch count than Samardzija faces going into the 7th, or than that of the average pitcher for that matter. I did not look, so support your point and refute mine.

Feeney

What about Shark???

Am I missing something? On fangraphs Shark’s 7th in the NL in WAR. He’s 3rd in the NL with 120 strikeouts.

Samardjiza has a much better FIP and xFIP than Wood as well.

http://www.bleachernation.com Brett

What you’re missing is that “All-Star” decisions dramatically lag the evolution in modern statistical thinking. You and I would both agree that Samardzija has been the Cubs’ best pitcher this year. But Wood’s gonna be the All-Star (and he’s arguably deserving as well).

Feeney

Yeah I guess. The more I look at it the less sure I am. Wood’s ERA+ and WHIP are better than Shark’s.

I just think maybe they both deserve it. Shark is a top 10 guy in a couple of major categories.

SirCub

Yea, should totally be Shark. Wood’s actually been really lucky this year with stranding base runners and not giving up home runs, despite a really high fly ball rate. I guess his ERA could be lower, but it could also be much, much higher.

BluBlud

All those stats ar good, and they mean a lot going foward as far as projections. However, at least in terms of MVP, I think the final results mean a whole lot more. Shark is definitely the better pitcher, but Wood is having the better season.

Feeney

In a lot of ways they are having roughly equal seasons but Shark is doing it with less luck involved and more sustainability.

SirCub

That’s a good point. Even if we know Shark is the better pitcher, Wood has gotten better results at this point in the season.

Chris H.

Saw an article in USA today this weekend that craps all over Castro. Basically says he is slowing down the rebuild singlehandedly. I thought it was a pretty terrible article.

I don’t know how they can say he is slowing the rebuild. It is what it is, he’s in a down year, hopefully he will turn it around.

SirCub

Unrelated to whether he was “hustling” or not, I just really hate that sweep slide. Guys do it way too much. Just slide straight into the plate, feet first. It’s the fastest way to get there. I don’t know if he would’ve been safe or not, but it looked like he maybe could’ve gotten under the tag if he’d gone straight in.

http://www.bleachernation.com Brett

Maybe, but that’s a little more dangerous.

SirCub

I’ve always thought feet first slides were safer than head first slides or bowling a guy over at the plate. But I guess sweep slides are even safer. Baseball players are such wimps these days.

Giantelmo

Could not agree more. My first reaction to the clip was “slide straight in!” Gets him to the plate quicker and likely knocks the catcher off his balance.

SenorGato

Sucks to be Castro right now. I really hope he comes back strong after the ASB.

Carne Harris

Seemed like it was more than a bad jump from Castro. Hard to tell because the camera was off him for a sec, but looked like he was shutting it down assuming he wasn’t going to be sent. Bad mental gaffe if true. You gotta assume you’re gonna be sent there and it was pretty obvious pretty early he wasn’t running hard enough for where Cespedes fielded that ball.

SirCub

I think Puig’s bat flip has a little more attitude to it, like he’s carelessly discarding the bat now that he’s done with it. Whereas Valbuena seems to joyously fling the bat in exhilaration.

Pug is just a little more flippant, if you will.

http://www.shadowsofwrigley.com TC

I don’t know if you saw it, but I think it was Rice Cube over at WorldSeriesDreaming that had a post that showed that Castro probably got a bad jump because he wasn’t sure if the ball was falling in.

Outside of that, I think people overestimate Castro’s speed. He’s a slightly above average runner right now, but with all the steals last season, I think a lot of folks/national writers in particular expect him to be a burner, which he is not. He also has a kinda goofy stride that makes him look slower than he is (it’s probably an inefficient stride, too)

http://www.justinjabs.com/blog/ justinjabs

I thought the sad part is someone cares about Wood’s ERA?

Kurt

I’m with you Justin, that’s what stuck out to me.I’m really starting to hope that Dale is just a placeholder.

RoughRiider

Watching Castro this year, the way he walks and runs appears to be a little different. I’m wondering if he’s got some sort of leg or hip injury that’s affecting him enough that he’s having some trouble but not enough to sit him.

Mush

I think he is getting thicker like Soriano did and he is losing speed.

SenorGato

How is Wellington Castillo’s defense? BbRef seems to love it (1.3 dWAR), he has the arm, yet I am not really a fan. I admit to not seeing many games this year THO.

Chad

I think he’s much better than last year and better than anyone anticipated. I think he will continue to develop. I think he can be a pretty good catcher for the cubs, not great or anything but pretty good. And he’s getting better at receiving pitches in my opinion. Again keyword is better. Still has a ways to go.

Spriggs

Agree… definitely good enough right now and getting better — in all phases. Especially if his offense improves just a little, he should stick for a long time.

SenorGato

Doesnt the fact that hes 27 and in his 9th year of pro ball hurt the whole “he will get better” thing? How much better?

Is he an active and/or aggressive catcher behind the plate? How is he with balls in the dirt?

Crockett

Didn’t you try to make this argument about Andrew Miller yesterday?

SenorGato

Whoa there Davey. Werent you trying to tell me that comparing Samardzija to Miller (though there was no actual comp made beyond suggesting the reliever to starter conversion) does not make sense? How is Miller relevant when talking about a barely not a rookie 27 year old catcher?

SenorGato

Speaking of Miller/Samardzija from yesterday – no one thought Samardzija would even make a good relievers until he was a good reliever in 2011. That’s just generally how people are – he might have been the single most hated Cub going into last ST.

Crockett

I’m just saying that you’re putting out that Andrew Miller, at 28, may suddenly be a quality starter with an enormous track record that says “unlikely”, but you don’t think a position player (who is obviously talented) can do the same?

Seems odd.

SenorGato

Yeah, again, the position player is almost the same age, has been in pro ball longer, was a waaaaaaaay lesser prospect and amatuer talent, and was only a little over rookies status. Context matters.

The Red Sox have been rebuilding Miller to start since they picked him up, and the progress has been immense. He does not throw the ball nearly the same way he did as a younger player, much like Samardzija’s mechanics became noticeably cleaner year to year.

SenorGato

By pro ball I mean he sat in the minors longer.

Chad

No, not really since he’s gotten better every single year that he’s been with the cubs, especially the last 2 years at the ML level.

SenorGato

The “last two years” don’t even add up to one full major league season.

Anyone on his actions behind the plate? Aggressive? Active? Vocal? An obvious leader or not so much?

Mush

In defense of Castro, I did not see Rizzo at the plate telling which direction to slide. Let me know if I missed that.

Spriggs

I noticed that too.

http://www.worldseriesdreaming.com dabynsky

Watching either broadcast Rizzo was never really shown to indicate what if any guidance he was giving Castro as he was heading into home plate.

Fenway Frank

Castro was chugging. No Criticism from me.

King Jeff

What I saw, he was out by a few steps, so even if he didn’t “slow-down” to round third, it still would have been a bang bang play, and he probably would have been out. Personally, I didn’t think the ball was hit deep enough and he should have been held at third.

Spriggs

Could hardley disagree more. If Bell hadn’t sent him, I would still be screaming at him. Everything had to be executed almost perfectly by Cespedes as he had to run in and field the softly hit ball, grab and throw in motion from a ball on the ground. Not like he was coming in on a lazy fly and had time to measure…

When you say he was out by a “few steps”, what or how many steps do you mean? To me, a few indicates more than a couple… I’d say no more than one step. It wasn’t necessarily bang-bang, but it was pretty close. Close enought that – had that been the Cubs in field and Bruce Froemming umping, he would have called him safe. No one would have questioned it much either.

King Jeff

I’ll have to look again, but it seemed to me that he had time to realize that he was meat and then adjust his slide at the plate, which should really be taken as a compliment to how great of a catch and throw I think it was by Cespedes, not that I’m trying to blame Bell or Castro for making a mistake.

Spoda17

I think we need to be a little careful with the Castro bashing trend (not you Bret necessarily, I mean Cubs Nation as a whole, including me). I think we are very close to creating an environment he will never be successful in. I’m not endorsing not hustling, but he is really young an he will make mistakes. The difference is that he is in the majors, and not triple A. He is not Trout or Harper, he is learning at the major league level. It’s painful, but I think we have to be cognizant of the criticism.

Hansman1982

It really does get old that any time a Cubs player isn’t perfect but the thought is he should be we tear them down relentlessly until we are begging for that player jus to get released or traded for a bag of beans (then that player does get traded for a bag of beans and the uproar intensifies).

It was a perfect throw from Cespedes that got him and he wasn’t walking to home plate. Geez

CubsFanSaxMan

I believe that the FO needs to consider trading Castro (maybe they are?) while he still has value. I predict that Castro will soon become the victim of the “boo birds” ala Marmol. That was one of the reasons sited for trading Marmol. Castro is definitely not a fan favorite. I realize that is not a requirement, but I think that the FO would prefer players that connect with the fans, especially those deemed as “core” players.

I feel sorry for Castro. But I believe that it is quickly getting to the point where he is constantly going to be analyzed for every little thing. No one can play that way. A change of scenery might be good for him. I know that everyone says that he is still young, etc., but he has been a full time player for three years and does not seem to be improving all that much (although I don’t have the stats to prove that right now).

Now is the time. It might be the wise thing to do. His value is still high and there are people waiting in the wings to take his place. Think about it.

Chad

I have been on the trade Castro bus for a while now. I just don’t think he fits this FO’s way to play the game. Granted they just game him a 7 year extension, but still, I do not like how he plays the game. Unfortunately he does not have someone waiting behind him in the wings. Alcantra likely doesn’t have the glove for SS and Baez probably doesn’t either, maybe they can, but they aren’t close to majors yet. I would say trade him if you can get a young SS prospect back, but that probably wont’ happen either. I would love to see him traded to somewhere and get a return in SP prospects that are legit (like Skaggs). I’ve been under the impression that the best thing this FO could do is get rid of all reminence of the last regime. That includes Castro.

another JP

Castro’s SB #s are also down this year, & I’m thinking he’s just a bit slow in all facets of his game right now. What will probably be apparent in the future is that he wasn’t in the best condition, mentally or physically, to be prepared for the season and it affected his overall performance.

conysdad

I don’t agree that Castro was running hard at all. And I’m not in the group of folks who want to move him from SS or send him to AAA to work on his problems. Nor is yesterday’s play the end of the world. I just do not agree at all that that was a guy running hard. Cespedes made a nice play but Castro running hard beats the throw.

preacherman86

No different than puig nailing the guy at 3rd from right when he was halfway when the ball was thrown. Tough luck for the kid, great play, great plays usuallyske someone else look bad.

http://msn Sacko

The jump wasn’t bad, the speed wasn’t bad, he got thrown out at home with a perfect throw.
He didn’t get hurt. He’s having a bad 1st half at the plate and his defense hasn’t really improved. It probably won’t be a bad idea to sit him a little more at this time. I think he will be fine. If we loose him…We will miss him.

BRANT BROWN

I try to watch a lot of Cub games when work and family life permits. I can tell you on more than three occasions ive seen castro grab for his hamstring during different games. I think hes dealing with a mild hamstring injury. Ive seen on this website a lot of negative comments towards his play this year. We really have to sit back and realize hes 23. This is his first major struggle but he seems to be having a better approach at the plate of late. Brett thanks for filling us in on all things cubs we appreciate it.

Alb_daKID

Castro was not running hard!! Any of you guys that say so are just making up excuses for the kid. He thought he was going to score easily and got nailed on a throw that would have been late if he put his head down and sprint home. Castro assumes to much in this game and makes tons of stupid mistakes because of it.

Alb_daKID

Whether it was Castro or not he should have scored on that play. Im pro Castro (sounds odd, not the Cuban Castro…lol) but little by little he makes it hard to not criticize him. Forget the fact he’s in a slump offensively right now. He still making boneheaded plays and as this apathetic demeanor about his play. That was a tied ball game if he sprints it out therefore, there would have been no need for his little league slide. Iunno folks, he looks lost and is displaying typical Dominican baseball… tools everywhere but fundamentals nowhere!! Wake up and stop with the KID excuses already Castro!!

mjhurdle

very poor analysis.
absolutely no facts there, just your opinion being promoted as if it was fact.
even your opinions are based on nothing but assumptions (Castro wasn’t running hard, he is apathetic, he is lost and has no fundamentals).

All of those points may have some basis in reality, but all you do is choose the worst possible reasons for anything that has happened, assume they apply to Castro, and then proceed to rant in a holier-than-thou manner.
Just my opinion, but it makes it very hard to take something seriously when delivered in that matter.

Alb_daKID

Assumption?? WTF… are you talking about? Do you not watch the games?? Do you not see his pre pitch routine on defense?? Did you not watch the play?? Did you not listen to the analysis of the broadcasters? Do you not see on routine plays how often he overthrows first base?? Do you not see his stance is super wide open, more than ever? How are those opinions? The fact I played in the Dominican for 7 years, I do have plenty of insight on the lack of fundamentals taught. The guys there play homerun derby in the sandlots more often than practice baserunning and taking groundballs.

So, from now on I’ll describe all the details about secondary leads, pitch selection, angles taken on ground balls,…etc…etc… I dont have to go into specifics to make a valid point that Castro has very apathetic moments during the game. I dont have to go into specifics for it to be clear that he has a lack of fundamentals. If you cant score from 2nd on a easy hit ball to the outfield, then claim i provide no facts to the matter then I dont have a clue what Castro you watch!??

mjhurdle

“I dont have to go into specifics to make a valid point that Castro has very apathetic moments
actually, that would be exactly what you have to do to make valid points. It helps to, you know, actually back up what you are saying with more than ‘OMG I SAW THIS!!”.
anyway, i was just trying to help you out, but apparently you are less concerned with making ‘valid” points and sounding like you understand what you are talking about, and more concerned with rambling on about assumed ‘facts”.
i will leave you to your work.
take care!

Alb_daKID

Ok. So, if you watch the replay 5 steps and 3 breaths prior to arriving at third base castro was at i would say three quarters speed of how he is capable of running. Even the broadcasters noticed it hence “he was jogging” comment they said. Is that better. As far as “apathetic” in a litteral analysis that in a non tangible characteristic one must assume by body language and actions that one is in fact apathetic. So, when your in a pitchers duel type of ball game and your half ass-ing it on a hit ball that should score would it be safe to assume your “APATHETIC” about scoring? That your lazy and took the play for granted??

King Jeff

Funny, I found a similar play with Mike Trout trying to score from second, and he seemed to have about the same pace as Castro did on his play. Only Trout tried to score on a hit to right field, that was a much more difficult throw for the outfielder to make and he was out by more than Castro. I don’t really recall a bunch of people getting up in arms about it either.

As soon as I found that one, there were about 20 other similar ones, and in none of those did I find a player capable of rounding third at full speed, every one of them had to slow a few steps before the bag to turn the corner, almost like it was physically required of them.

OCCubFan

The Trout replay didn’t show me enough of Trout running to conclude anything. I found few other throws.

A young Vlad Guerrero threw out Castillo, but Vlad had the ball well before Castillo got to 3rd base.

Vlad gets Hundley at the plate. I think Hundley started from 1st, not 2nd.

Bo Jackson throws out Nilsson at the plate. Hard to be sure, but it looked like Jackson had the ball before Nilsson got to 3rd. Jackson even doublle-clutched before throwing.

My conclusion is that none of these plays is the same as last night’s play in which Castro was two steps past 3rd when Cespedes fielded the ball.

King Jeff

Vlad was also throwing from right field on that play, which is a much more difficult throw. Castro had to slow down to round third, if you or anyone else take that as him being lazy, I guess that’s your perspective and you are welcome to it. I take it as it’s a part of the game, you slow down to round third so you don’t have to take a huge stride out of the baseline to get home, which would cost more time. I’ve seen it hundreds if not thousands of times, but for some reason Castro is the one that gets called lazy for it.

OCCubFan

You will not find a single post in which I use the words “Castro” and “lazy” in the same sentence (or anything similar).

If you take the turn correctly, which I believe Castro did, you should not have to slow down. But this is not very relevant to my question: why was he thrown out when he was two steps past 3rd base when Cespedes fielded the ball. The rule of thumb is that if the runner reaches the base before the ball is fielded then he should be able to score unless the outfielder is very shallow (he was not) or the runner is a slow runner (he is not).

Alb_daKID

Also, I dont understand how some of you say “when a cubs not perfect”…or we over analyze because its CASTRO… No sir!!! He doesnt focus, he makes silly errors on routine plays, he doesnt run hard, hell.. even pre-pitch he’s flat footed more often times than not. Its about accountability not about, “hey hes a kid he’s simply struggling right now.” Thats B.S. Does Trout or Harper not run to the max on hit balls?? Do those guys have constant lapses of focus in their game?? NO!! Castro doesnt have the power those guys have but its obvious he doesnt have the mental make up neither. So, stop with the “we over analyze him”…blah..blah..blah… It’s time for Castro to take responsibility and play the game right.. HUSTLE..HUSTLE…HUSTLE!!!

Watch the video. Even the analysist witnessed Castro joggin it. I dont know how you guys dont see that. SMH!

cubbie blue

You guys amaze me. Castro can do no right in a lot of fans eyes. He could go on 60 game hitting streak and you would complain he doesn’t walk enough. I don’t hear the complaints about all the bad plays that Rizzo makes. Rizzo’s defense is average at best and lots of times he doesn’t even stride to ball to catch. Too many balls get past him when they are in the dirt. Barney can barely hit is weight. Wellington can’t stop a ball in the dirt to save his life and yet all you people want to do is try to see if you can find some little thing that castro did wrong today. Yes he makes mistakes, but he plays hard and wants to succeed. He is always trying to learn. Watch him when ever he makes an out he looks up at the score board to watch the replay. He wants to know what he did wrong so it can correct. You can see the frustration when he makes outs key situations. His biggest problem right now is he is pressing instead of letting the game come to him. You watch when he gets some help on this team he will blossom.

Alb_daKID

I agree, however, How is not running to the max pressing? Like I said forget about his slump but his errors are still there and bottom line is he should of scored on that play. How is the errors and not running to the max pressing?? Just curious?

Mtrlill

Castro is a lazy primadonna that continues to trend downward. His defense and baserunning are horrible and now he isn’t getting it done at the plate. I would love to see the Cubs trade him while they could get a nice return based upon his upside potential and age.

Alb_daKID

Careful, you didnt provide any fact to your assesment. Those are all assumptions and your just giving Castro a hard time because he’s the over analyzed goat of this team. pshhh.. Your spot on my friend…spot on!!

SenorGato

This is what gets me through Castro’s first half:

Robinson Cano 2008:

First half – .246/.285/.358 in 370 PAs
Second half – .307/.333/.483

Now for the overly literal, no this does not mean Castro will become the RH Canoe. That said, hes not a bad candidate for it amongst guys playing in the majors right now.

Crockett

This is an excellent point. Castro still has very, very good bat speed, but his mechanics (timing) seem horrid right now.

His stance and leg kick have changed so dramatically from when he first came up. I think that has to have something to do with it.

Alb_daKID

I agree 100%. In my apparent non analytically analysis Castros Stance is way to open and he’s susceptible to the Soriano killer. Sliders and junk low and away. He’s taken a power hitters stance when in fact he’s best as a Gap hitter with maybe 10-15hr power with the occasional 20-maybe-25hr season. Sorry for not providing you with the breakdown mechanically that some need to warrant my assesment as valid?!!

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